Love It or Lose It

Recently I have been caught in the decorating curve and have loved watching the show "Love It or List It". After a remodel of a home, a couple decides whether to love it or list it and buy another.

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The phrase got me thinking. How would this phrase help me with writing?

Remember the saying by Marie Kondo, the famous Japanese organizing guru who says when thinking about keeping or giving something away; Does the item “Spark Joy”?

This makes me think of writing and getting the best results. Borrowing from the first show, I think I would name the slogan for writers: “Love it or Lose it”.

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After writing, whether your book is a short story, a nonfiction piece, or a novel; whatever you are working on that’s in the editing phase, it is paramount that you are cautious about what you leave in and take out of your manuscript.

The story or information as a whole must of course be more than appreciated. It must do something to your psyche. It must get you to thinking. It must change your mind about something you thought you knew. It must bring you joy. If nothing else, you will feel rewarded for having spent the time writing it. If you don’t honestly love what you’ve created; if you have heavy doubts about its quality or tone, or something about it just doesn’t feel right, you might consider losing it.

I have a book that was written many years ago. I think the plot is good, but every time I read it, the scenes just don’t mesh, and every time I finish the book having made corrections, I don’t love it. It’s still packed away. I may forever lose it.

Getting to the nitty-gritty; every sentence and paragraph needs to support the main idea. This is especially important if you are working on a children’s book or a short story. The shorter the material, the more important it is to write tight.  

Nonfiction also falls into this realm, especially if you’re working on an article. While a book gives room for flowery detail, a short ‘anything’ must be tightened until every last word counts toward the main idea. If it doesn’t’; if it is a great sentence or paragraph that is beautifully done but doesn’t fit with the main idea, lose it.

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Getting others to read your work in the editing phase helps you to love or lose the right things, especially if the reader is someone whom you can trust with an honest opinion. Get many of these honest opinions and you will find that your writing improves.

Something we all want.